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Loren

Van Doren, Book 1

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Loren

By: Crea Reitan
Narrated by: Nick J. Russo, Joshua Macrae
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I will kill to keep him.

Oakley

It's a new start—brand new school in a completely different state. For the first time, I now have the freedom to be unapologetically me. But as my luck would have it, I have shit taste in men. The first man to pay me a compliment has so many red flags, that I think I'm in a storm. Life can't get any worse… until he turns into a stalker.

Then my stalker ends up brutally murdered, I walk blindly into a serial killer's nest, and I catch the attention of a sociopath.

Loren

The moment I see Oakley walk into the cafe, I know he's mine. I may be here to finish a job, but it's impossible to concentrate on anything but him. My fascination quickly turns into an obsession, which might be fortunate for him because I think he's trying to get himself killed.

Which is fine; I'll protect him. It doesn't matter how many lives I have to end to make Oakley mine.

This is an LGBT+ story for mature listeners. A complete list of content warnings can be found on the author's website.

©2024 Amber Reitan writing as Crea Reitan (P)2025 Podium Audio Romance Romantic Suspense
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Oh I loved this book! Loren is the sweetest sociopath and Oakley is so accepting and understanding. I wasn’t expecting to swoon so hard over this book but I did, many times!

Loved this book

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Oakley Curran is a perpetual student studying at Eastern State U. He’s shy and underestimates his looks, which is why he’s the perfect target for the flattery of Daniel, a controlling serial killer. Luckily, Oakley has two things going for him: he’s fiercely protected by the friends in his college share house and he is under the protection of the Van Dorens, a close-knit family of contract killers who are paid to terminate those monsters the law cannot reach. Daniel’s termination has been assigned to Loren Van Doren, the most sociopathic member of the family, who can’t understand why he feels so incredibly protective of Oakley and must learn to curb his creepier tendencies if he’s to have any chance of getting to know Oakley.

I loved the premise of this story and I enjoyed watching Loren grow and change throughout the book. But, Crea Reitan has a habit of writing stories with a huge cast and I had a lot of trouble keeping tabs on all the characters. More baffling was the layout of the story: the two dicey situations involving Oakley were each wrapped up really quickly so any built-up tension and suspense was completely wasted. The story really revolves around the dynamic between Loren and Oakley and while that was steamy, satisfying and, at times, funny, it felt like the pace of the story lost a lot of momentum after the halfway mark. If you write about a book about using serial killers to catch serial killers, that subplot really needs to dominate throughout—it’s so sensational that every other subplot pales by comparison. 🎧 Joshua Macrae (as Loren) and Nick J. Russo (as Oakley) are both strong audio performers and they knock it out the park here!

Needed more suspense and less romance!

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.